Parshat Miketz

1,932 related texts · Page 55 of 215

Pharaoh's dreams, Joseph's rise to power in Egypt, the famine, and the brothers' first journey to Egypt. Genesis 41:1-44:17.

Joseph and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:1

The very first verse tells us: “The Song of Songs, that is Solomon’s” (Song of Songs 1:1). And the Rabbis, in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, begin by linking it to a verse from Proverbs: “H...

CreationJosephMosesSolomon

Joseph the Dreamer of Israelites

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 2:2

The Shir HaShirim Rabbah – a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Song of Songs – opens up a fascinating window into this. Rabbi Eliezer, interpreting a verse about redemp...

JosephMosesKing DavidMessiah

Mitzrayim and Joseph

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 8:1

They found it echoing through the verses of the Song of Songs, that most passionate and enigmatic book of the Bible, Shir HaShirim in Hebrew. Specifically, they focused on a partic...

JosephSolomonMessiahHoly Land

Shir: Joseph at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 12:1

Like one day you're just going about your business, and the next you're... somewhere else entirely? The ancient rabbis grappled with this feeling, this almost bewildered sense of e...

CreationJosephKing DavidSolomon

Saga of Joseph and Songs

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 3:3

I know, it sounds random. But stick with me. In Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Song of Songs, that very grain becomes a powerful symbol for t...

PatriarchsJosephMosesKing David

Saga of Joseph and Sacrifice

Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 5:7

The passage opens with a quote from Leviticus 4:15, describing the ritual of the elders laying their hands on the head of a bull before it's sacrificed. "The elders of the congrega...

Hell/GehennaJosephKing DavidSolomon

Saga of Joseph and Elazar

Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 23:2

Rabbi Elazar paints a vivid picture. Imagine a lily growing amidst a thicket of thorns. Beautiful. But how difficult would it be to pluck it, to reach in and claim that delicate fl...

Adam & EveJosephMosesKing David

Trials of Joseph and Canaan

Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 23:7

That feeling is surprisingly ancient. The Rabbis of the Midrash knew it well, wrestling with how to maintain Jewish identity in a world of competing cultures. In Vayikra Rabbah 23,...

CreationJosephMosesProphecy

Joseph and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 23:9

In Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Leviticus, we find a powerful exploration of this idea. It all starts with a seemingly simple verse: "You shall...

CreationNoah & FloodJosephMoses